Smorgasburg, the ever expanding Brooklyn Flea

I was fortunate enough to sit next to John Butler who is the brains and man behind Brownstoner at an event we both judged for ITP. Not only did he start Brownstoner, John teamed up with Eric Demby and they are co-founders of the Brooklyn Flea. An umbrella of the weekly market places around Brooklyn and they just added another addition to their every growing empire called Smorgasburg (nice play on the word). As Brooklyn continues to be the coolest borough in New York they have curated a variety of communal low-key events for people to congregate at while eating and making a few purchases at every weekend. They have also helped the economies of many food vendors by giving them a further weekly reach into the mouths of people. A win win for everyone including Brooklyn. It is a re-do of the town square.

We started our day this past Saturday at Smorgasburg. The first of this event. Located in Williamsburg, on the waterfront, which is absolutely beautiful. The good news for this area which is continuing to transform is that there will be a ferry service to the mainland (per se) starting this week. For all those living the life in Brooklyn but have to make their way into Manhattan daily to work, this is a life changer. The population has grown tremendously but the transportation has not made that leap. This will be huge.

After circling the event we did try a few things. There are some areas that got seriously log-jammed and it would be worth making a shift next weekend on where each vendor resides. Putting the high traffic savory booths next to some of the product driven booths will make for better flow and probably more purchases.

Here is the sausage stand. I would love to get one of these grills for my house. Serious line here.